Upper Macungie man dies in fire

James Hannon, 83, couldn't make his way through the smoke as his wife called to him. Family dog is injured.

February 06, 2004|By Ron Devlin Of The Morning Call

Anne Hannon came home Thursday morning, only to find her Upper Macungie Township home inundated with thick, black smoke.

Her first thought was for her 83-year-old husband, James D. Hannon, who was inside.

"She went inside looking for her husband," said neighbor Bud Kuhns, "but the smoke was too thick and she couldn't get to him."

Anne Hannon managed to call out to her husband, who was sight-impaired and used a walker, neighbors said. She urged him to crawl out of the burning building, a tan brick rancher with an attached garage. He told her he couldn't make it.

Hannon, a retired Lehigh Valley Mall maintenance supervisor, died in the fire at 342 Arrowhead Lane, just east of Adams Road about two miles southwest of Fogelsville.

The family dog, Saber, suffered smoke inhalation but survived.

Lehigh County Coroner Scott Grim said an autopsy will be performed today.

The coroner's report said the fire was discovered about 10 a.m.

Anne Hannon, a nurse who had been visiting patients in the morning, confirmed her husband's death.

Officer Mike Sinko of the Berks-Lehigh Regional police, the first to respond to Anne Hannon's 911 call, tried to get inside the burning house through the garage. He, too, was blocked by the wall of noxious smoke and fumes.

Jeff Grim, Fogelsville fire chief, said the fire apparently started in the kitchen, which was extensively damaged. The rest of the house had smoke damage. A state police fire marshal was investigating the cause of the fire.

Saber, a shepherd-collie mix, was barely conscious when firefighters carried him from the home on a makeshift stretcher. In the back of a pickup truck, they took him to Lehigh Valley Animal Hospital.

Dr. Michelle Meyer said the dog was having trouble breathing when he arrived at the hospital. Saber was given oxygen and an intravenous fluid and was treated for shock, the doctor said.

"He's doing fine," Meyer said in the afternoon. "He's bright and alert and wagging his tail."

Firefighters from the Fogelsville Volunteer Fire Company and Goodwill Fire Company in Trexlertown responded to the call, along with a crew from Cetronia Ambulance Company.